The One That Got Away
by X-LonelyGirl-X
Summary: Faberry. A twist of fate brought two McKinley High graduates together on a journey of happiness, tears and heartache against a backdrop of Lima, New York, New Haven and the house by the lake. They thought they were invincible and for a while, they were.
1. Chapter One: Duo

**AN: This is my first Faberry fic that I've actually posted (I have several in my documents that are all incomplete) and it's my favourite too. I've worked hard on it and I hope that you'll like it. Updates should be relatively frequent if I keep the pace of filling in missing scenes. Thanks to **flooj9235 **for proofreading the first two chapters. ****Enjoy x**

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**Title: **The One That Got Away

**Pairing: **Quinn Fabray & Rachel Berry

**Rating: **M (Just to be safe)

**Summary: **A twist of fate brought two McKinley High graduates together on a journey of happiness, tears and heartache against a backdrop of Lima, New York, New Haven and the house by the lake. They thought they were invincible and for a while, they were.

**The One That Got Away**

**Present Day: New Haven, CT**

**Duo**

The weather in New Haven was practically idyllic; the sun was shining and there was barely a cloud in the sky. The heat of the day meant the ice-cream parlours were probably making a decent amount of profit. In fact, there was a large queue in the student union for iced beverages but Quinn was in her last class of the semester, her only intention was to make it through these next few minutes and get home to complete and submit her final essay.

The walk from campus to her apartment wasn't too far. Admittedly it was further than the student halls where she had lived for her first year of college but she much preferred to have her own space without drunken college students disturbing her sleep or trying to get her to participate in their extravagant parties. By the time she reached the steps to the large brick building, her white blazer was draped over her left arm while her right hand was occupied with finding her keys. It had definitely increased in temperature since she stepped out this morning for her nine o'clock lecture and she cursed herself for wearing jeans instead of something cooler like that summer dress she bought last week. The back of her neck felt damp as she ran her hand across it, sighing in the heat as the door pushed open.

She was grateful for the coolness of the air-conditioned building as she closed the heavy door behind her. Bypassing collecting her mail, she made her way up the stairs with her hand gliding along the iron banister. A brief jingle of metal and her key was in the door of her second floor apartment, the shiny silver four adorning the green painted wood just above the gold-rimmed peephole. Once inside, the blonde grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator, dumped her messenger bag on the bed and sat down at the small desk she'd had since high school. Drinking half the contents of the bottle in one go and with a refreshed sigh, she opened her laptop which sat where she'd left it last night and began to type. She only had about two-hundred words or so to write, and with the information she gained from today's class, she knew exactly how to finish off the twenty-page long assignment which had dulled her to tears on several occasions.

Almost sixty minutes passed before the lid on Quinn's laptop made a satisfactory click as it finally closed. The paper was complete and submitted electronically; it was over. There were a few moments of mechanical whirring before it went quiet, her palm still resting on the machine in the room which was now completely silent bar the birds chirping outside. It was then she realised she was free for summer vacation. All her assignments were now completed and all her exams were already over. She was free.

Stretching to rid herself of the remaining stresses in her body, she reached over to grab her iPod which lay discarded on the bedside table. She pulled out the earphones and placed the device in the docking station on her desk; she selected an album and cranked up the volume to rid the room of the previous studious silence. For a few minutes, she just listened to the song, to the rhythm and to the lyrics, her foot tapping with the beat and her fingers drumming along the desk. She sighed, relaxing and tried not to wonder how long this stress-free period would last. It was the end of the semester and the end of her second year; it should be a summer of no stresses at all.

Taking another deep drink of the water, the blonde crouched and pulled one of her old moving boxes out from under the bed and began her usual end-of-year clear-out. She started sorting through various folders, placing work and notes into the box that she wouldn't need next year but didn't want to throw away lest she wanted to refer back to them. It didn't take all that long but the room was stuffy, the heat making it seem much longer. She opened the window which looked down onto the street before resuming her previous organisational attitude by tackling her chaotic notice-board. The box was dropped on her desk by her laptop with a small thump, her hands making quick work of de-pinning various sheets of paper, post-it notes and deadline reminders from the cork notice-board. Each one she removed supplied her with a sense of relief, removing the weight that had been on her shoulders these past few hectic weeks. The removal revealed several photos which had been buried beneath school-work. There was one of Beth taking her first steps, another showing her first day at school; a photo from the McKinley production of West Side Story sat next to one of Santana in her Rocky Horror outfit. There were various snapshots of college life with a few classmates and the occasional work colleague but the majority of the photos came from her High School years and she smiled at the memories scattered before her.

Quinn still had her first Yale acceptance letter pinned up; rereading the words she already knew and deciding it was time to take it down and put it somewhere safe. Her fingers grasped the red push-pin and gently tugged, only to drop the pin an instant later as a photo dropped onto her desk. The red pin rolled under the desk but Quinn didn't notice. The Yale application floated out of her grasp, sailing on the air to land several feet away; she didn't see this either. She couldn't take her eyes from the photo which was face down on her desk; she knew which one it was, now remembering she had pinned the letter over it so she wouldn't have to see it.

As much as her head told her to simply toss the photo out, alongside many of the others she still kept; her heart simply couldn't throw away the memory. "Get a grip Fabray," she told herself and reached out to the photo, lifting it to eye-level. She didn't want to look at the memory forever captured on that small rectangle but her actions were out of her control, her fingers flipped the photo and her eyes took in every single megapixel of the image before her. "Just throw it out," but she continued to stare at the memory formed at her parent's cabin by the lake so long ago, her vision blurring from the tears beginning to collect in her eyes.

There was a knock at the door which startled the blonde and the photo dropped from her hands. She watched as it fell to the floor, mesmerised. Another knock brayed on the door. "Fuck," Quinn breathed, kneeling to scoop up the photo and wiping at her eyes lest those tears which threatened actually decided to fall. Memories were powerful things, Quinn knew this better than anybody and she resented the power certain memories still had over her. Another knock. Quinn muttered about impatience under her breath, irritated by whoever was on the other side of the wood. She dropped the photo in the box still sat on her desk, knocked off the music she could barely hear over her thudding heart and went over to the door, pulling it wide open with a "What?" without even looking through the peep-hole first.

"Well it's nice to see you too, Fabray," came a cocky response with a humorous lift of a single dark eyebrow.

"Santana?" the blonde questioned, not believing her own eyes. There was no mistaking the dark haired beauty currently stood in Quinn's doorway; it was most definitely the one and only Santana Lopez. The same Santana who had been part of the popular trio dubbed 'The Unholy Trinity' in High School. The same Santana who was considered to be one of the most attractive girls in McKinley High whose physical appearance had only improved with age. "What are you doing here?"

"What? No hug? No 'come on in'?" Santana smirked, teasing the ex-cheerio captain before dropping a duffel bag to the ground and wrapping her tan arms around the slightly taller girl. The blonde hesitated for just a second, the photo still weighing heavily on her mind, and then her arms were around Santana's back securing the Latina to her, much like she used to years ago when she needed an anchor.

"I know we haven't seen each other in a while but I know that hug, Fabray," Santana said seriously, pulling out of the embrace slightly. Her arms were loose around the blonde so she could look at Quinn's face; dark eyes studied the face they knew so well but it had changed so much since their high school days. Her features were much more defined than senior year, her face a little thinner but there was one thing that would never change about Quinn Fabray; those eyes. You could tell so much from those deep pools of hazel, it was like reading a book and Santana practically had the Cliff notes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she lied, dropping her face from that studious dark gaze.

"Q, this is me; I know you and it isn't _nothing_," Santana told her firmly, not allowing the blonde to dismiss this situation. Santana, knowing Quinn like she did, had no doubt that this 'nothing' was to do with an affair of the heart and knowing Quinn like she did, she had a pretty good idea about _who_.

Quinn sighed softly, releasing the dark haired young woman and grabbing the large duffel bag from the floor. She turned back inside without another word, knowing her friend would follow. Santana was a patient person when it came to important and emotional issues such as these, particularly ones which concerned Quinn and so she waited; she waited for Quinn and didn't rush the blonde to tell of her problems. The Latina remained silent as she stepped over the threshold, closing the door behind her. Quinn was on the sofa in the relatively small living room, the duffel bag was on the coffee table where it had been discarded.

"You've redecorated," Santana noted casually, glancing around the apartment; it had been a long time since she had last been here but she knew this room was most definitely a different colour to before.

"Quit with the small talk," came Quinn's voice, her tone was harsh but the volume betrayed the vulnerability beneath. Her hand held something out in a loose grasp between two fingers toward her guest and Santana strode over and sat beside Quinn, taking the photo from those slender digits. Santana took a final glance at the blonde who stared at the woven carpet before her own eyes curiously dropped to the photo.

"Rachel." Santana breathed simply; the single word confirming what she already knew.

"What else would it be?"

A few moments passed before Santana spoke again, recalling the day that the photo illustrated. Quinn had told her everything about that week at the lake; she knew it as if she had been there herself. She knew the importance this image held for Quinn. "How long has it been? A year?"

"Two and a half," Quinn told her with great certainty; she knew the dates all too well.

"Shit, really?" Santana was surprised but her tone was soft, she knew the kind of pain Quinn was in and knew all too well that it was everlasting. Santana moved closer to the girl she valued over all others and placed a hand comfortingly upon Quinn's arm. "You're not over her," she said simply, rhetorically.

There was a small chuckle, one without humour and one which caught in the blonde's throat. "I don't think I'll ever get over Rachel Berry," Quinn sighed, tucking her feet under herself and leaning on Santana's shoulder. The hand moved from her arm to around her shoulders, encircling Quinn in a safe embrace reminiscent of many in the past. "I don't even know if I want to."

-X-

**AN: This is only a short introduction but as the story will flick between past and present, I thought it best to separate the time zones into their own chapters for an easier read. Please review and I hope you'll s****tay tuned for Chapter Two 'The Summer After High School'.**


	2. Chapter Two:The Summer After High School

**AN: The second installment of** The One That Got Away **set in 2012, post-graduation. The first insight into Quinn and Rachel's relationship. Please review x**

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**2012: Lima, OH**

**The Summer After High School**

Only a week had passed since graduation at McKinley High and four weeks since the great break-up of Rachel Berry and Finn Hudson. No one knew why the two had seemingly ended it for real this time but there were many rumours circulating the pair. Some believed Finn said something oafish as usual or insulted one of Rachel's idols or told her yet again how selfish she was; others thought she had merely just come to her senses and realised she should be treated like the star she was. Quinn was one of the few who had any real knowledge of what had happened. She'd witnessed the fights, partook in most of them and she'd been there for the tears and played a large part in those too.

"You've gotta stop thinking about her," Quinn told herself as she sat in her car outside The Lima Bean. She'd said those exact words to herself countless times over the past four years. Four years of trying and failing to not think about Rachel Berry. No matter what she did, Rachel was always there.

She checked her purse to see if she had any loose change to pay for her drink and noted she had just enough in change and various extra bills. With a quick glance at her reflection in the mirror, she grasped the handle to open the door. She'd been craving a decent cup of coffee all morning and her mom's new espresso machine was on the fritz again. Cursing her mother for not taking it back to the store like she said she would, the blonde didn't notice the figure passing her car as she swung the door open.

There was a small yelp and Quinn quickly reached out to grab the person's arm; the angle was awkward due to the door being in the way but she managed to catch the brunette before she lost her balance and fell. It only took a matter of seconds for it to dawn on Quinn that she knew that brunette; she might not be able to see her face but she knew exactly who it was.

"Rachel, I'm so sorry," she began, stumbling over her own words a little as she rushed to get them out. "I didn't see you, I'm sorry. Are you hurt?" The brunette turned around quickly in surprise at recognising the voice behind her, her hair swaying dramatically with the movement. Quinn released the hold she still had on the slightly younger girl's arm. She quickly occupied her hand and closed the still open door, locking the vehicle with a press of a button.

"That's quite alright, Quinn. I'm fine." Rachel's response was slow and purposeful, as if she was overanalysing every syllable. Quinn's arm was aching from where it had pressed against the metal of the car door; she rubbed it cautiously, feeling a tension in the air.

"It's um..." Quinn hesitated before deciding to just go for it. It'd been four weeks since it all came out in the open and they'd had a week of not seeing one another at all. What could it hurt now? "It's nice to see you."

"Yes, well," Rachel paused, her eyes trying to find something to focus on other than her fellow McKinley High graduate. "I was getting coffee," she said simply, glancing briefly toward the building. Quinn could see Rachel wanted this conversation – if you could call it that – to end, but something made Quinn respond, barely a thought in her words other than they were there and they were being spoken to Rachel.

"Me too."

"Figured," came the curt response and Quinn cursed herself mentally. Of course she was here getting coffee, why else would she be in the parking lot of The Lima Bean with her purse in her hand? A monkey could have figured that out without being told. Hell, Finn could have worked that one out on his own.

"Sorry again," Quinn told her. Those hazel eyes found brown and Rachel knew she was apologising for a hell of a lot more than just hitting her with a car door.

"It doesn't matter," Rachel dismissed with a wave of her hand which clutched her own car keys. "What happened happened." And with that, she clearly wanted the subject to end.

There was a sound of a bell as someone exited the coffee place and headed towards the two post-graduate girls. His car was parked near to Quinn's and he had to pass the two of them to be able to reach his vehicle. Quinn pressed herself against her Beetle so he could squeeze past; he thanked her and she nodded politely in response. When she looked back toward Rachel, she was gone. A swish of a dark pleated skirt and the tinkling of a bell directed Quinn's gaze to the door and she quickly followed.

"Rachel," she said, joining the queue behind the brunette. She didn't know what else to say but she had so many questions and so many thoughts that couldn't she couldn't make them form coherent sentences. There had been many words shared between the pair but so much was left unsaid or avoided completely and Quinn wanted to know all the answers. The unanswered questions had been driving her crazy for the past four weeks.

"Quinn, as rude as it may sound; I would appreciate it if you left me alone," Rachel didn't turn as she spoke, she continued looking up at the chalk boards with the various coffees and beverages written in different coloured chalk. She was trying to ignore the fact that Quinn Fabray was behind her, looking at her, talking to her. Due to this, the brunette didn't see the hurt in Quinn's eyes, or the bite of a lip, or the slight wince as those words had a physical impact on the taller girl behind her.

"I told you four weeks ago that I didn't want us to be awkward around one another," Quinn stated, her eyes watching every movement of the brunette. If her words had any form of effect on the girl, she wanted to detect them. And detect them she did; Rachel stiffened at the memory. As much as Rachel seemed to want to forget about it all, Quinn knew that their conversation in the auditorium would never leave Rachel's memory as long as she lived. It was hardly something you could forget easily.

"Quinn," she said. Her voice was soft but it was most definitely a warning, a warning not to bring up the events of the past four weeks.

"You said it wouldn't be awkward and now here we are, barely able to look at one another," Quinn reminded her, resisting the urge to grab the shorter girl's shoulder and spin her around to face her head on. "You promised."

"Don't." Rachel warned again, reaching the front of the queue. After a small clearing of her throat, she ordered her chosen beverage with a polite smile.

"Is that all?" asked the red-headed barista as he tapped the order into the machine. Rachel began to tell him it was but Quinn interrupted, quickly telling him her own order and dropping a ten dollar bill next to the cash register.

Rachel did spin to face Quinn then with her hair swirling in the briskness of the move. There was anger written plainly on her face and confusion in her eyes. "What the hell are you doing, Quinn?"

"I'm buying your coffee," the blonde said simply, ignoring the diva's frustration. She held out her hand to the barista for her change. He handed it over in coins with a nervous glance between the two young women, clearly unsure of protocol in this situation. "Thank you," Quinn told him politely, dropping the change into her open purse.

"You shouldn't have done that," Rachel breathed as she moved to the end to wait for her drink, her fingers tapping against the wood with frustration as the rhythm. "You should have left me alone when I asked."

"Why? What is the problem with me still wanting to be your friend?"

"Because you don't exactly have friendship on your mind," she muttered harshly, trying to keep her voice at a relatively low level. She had spoken quickly, as if she daren't have the words in her mouth for longer than absolutely necessary. Her eyes fluttered closed for just a moment as she took a breath and continued at a normal pace and volume. "You told me that yourself."

"And you said you wanted to be friends with the entire glee club for the rest of your life; why am I excluded from that group?"

"I just explained why," the shorter girl responded before catching the attention of an employee. "Excuse me; can I have mine to go?"

"So you're just going to walk away from me again and forget you even saw me, hmm?" Quinn's voice was supposed to be stern and accusing but it wasn't hard to hear the hurt that was collecting in a hard ball in her throat.

"I've had to forget about you and your actions a lot in the past, Quinn." Rachel said. "I did it then and I can certainly do it now."

Those words stung; Quinn had explained four weeks ago (and each subsequent week) why she had been such an awful person to Rachel, why she had sought her out on a personal vendetta, bullied her relentlessly. Before that certain explanation, Rachel had come to terms with that part of their past and had moved on to a 'kind of' friendship with the taller girl who used to torment her. But here she was, bringing that past back up to hurt Quinn because the meaning behind it had changed so drastically. Brown eyes locked on shimmering hazel for just a moment before Rachel snatched up the steaming hot beverage the second it was placed on the collection table and headed straight for the door, car keys in hand.

Quinn thought about just letting Rachel leave and to merely erase this day from her mind. She thought about simply drinking her coffee in one of those comfy chairs by the window. There was a book in her bag; it would be so easy to lose herself in the well-thumbed copy of _Wuthering Heights_ she so loved_._ Her order was placed in front of her, the contents searing hot, the scent of cinnamon escaping and reaching Quinn's nose. She inhaled deeply, trying to forget about the brunette with the captivating voice. Out of the corner of her eye, Quinn could see through the large window and saw that Rachel had reached her car. "Let her go," Quinn whispered softly to herself as she picked up the ceramic mug. "Stop thinking about her," she repeated that phrase once again and turned to face the room, intending to spot an empty seat.

With that turn, Rachel's form moved from Quinn's peripheral vision to dead centre. In the blonde's mind, everything grew deathly quiet as her heartbeat rang loud in her ears. _Thud. Thud. Thud. _The ceramic mug with the Lima Bean logo emblazoned on the side was suddenly discarded on a nearby table, the cream spilling all down one-side as the liquid was disturbed in the rushed action. The bell sounded as the door flung open. Footsteps echoed through the parking lot as Quinn forgot the entire notion of simply letting Rachel leave.

"Rachel!" she yelled toward the brunette's car which was slowly pulling out of the parking bay. "Rachel, please!"

Rachel ignored the blonde and continued to drive forward, albeit slowly in the parking lot. Quinn, with her well defined calf muscles and impressive stamina, easily caught up and banged her fist on the driver's side window. Rachel jolted at the sound. "Damn it, Quinn," she said from behind the glass, brows furrowed in anger and irritation.

"Talk to me," Quinn told her, raising her voice and mouthing her words more deliberately to be heard through the glass. "You can't avoid me for the rest of your life."

"We'll be in different states by the end of summer, I most certainly can avoid you if I so wish." Rachel replied but she didn't know if she was heard. She didn't know if she really cared about being heard, she just wanted to get out of this damn lot without accidently running Quinn over and she certainly did not want to cry again. She'd done far too much crying this past month.

"You know," continued Quinn as she jogged alongside the silver vehicle, grateful that The Lima Bean had a decent sized parking lot. "I think I know why you want to avoid me but you just can't admit it to yourself, can you?"

Rachel tried to ignore the words and reached for the stereo, pressing the power button. She didn't have to listen to this, she told herself. She turned the volume up a little more and tried to listen to the music rather than the desperate and pleading voice of Quinn Fabray who continued to keep up with the car.

Quinn could hear music coming from the car and merely got louder. She didn't care if any one heard her; she wasn't the girl she used to be, she would shout it from Coach's bullhorn if it would get Rachel to listen. "Prove to me I'm wrong, Rachel. Prove it and you'll never see me again."

Rachel was nearing the exit; she would soon be on the road and on her way home where she could lock the door and drown her thoughts with music and her vocal practices ahead of NYADA. "Don't listen to her. You're almost there," she muttered like a mantra while Quinn still kept up alongside the vehicle, jogging with no hint of tiring. With a look both ways on the road, Rachel pulled out of the lot and joined the traffic.

"You're a coward, Rachel Berry!" Quinn yelled at the top her lungs from the sidewalk, her hands balled into fists and tears burning in her eyes. "A coward!"

She didn't know how long she stood there in the middle of the sidewalk, still staring after Rachel's car which was long gone. But when she finally managed to move, she was too emotional to head back inside and drink her spilled coffee. Instead, she pulled out her keys from her pocket, got straight in her car and floored it home, not caring about breaking speeding laws.

-X-

The sun had long ago disappeared along with the bright blue of the sky to be replaced with the milky ball of the moon, hanging from an invisible string on a backdrop of perfect black littered with twinkling stars. It was a beautiful night just like it had been a beautiful day, in weather terms, that is. To the young singer who walked up the path to an unfamiliar house, it had been anything but a beautiful day; she'd spent several hours of it in tears, tears she'd previously thought she'd finally managed run out of.

But now, here she was, dry-eyed and lifting her hand to the gold knocker and rapping it twice. Part of her hoped that no one was home, but she'd seen two cars in the driveway and the lights were on downstairs. A shadow passed the frosted glass window in the door; someone was coming. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath in hopes of calming herself; she hated being nervous, not having control and yet here she was, terrified.

The door opened to reveal a blonde and for a moment Rachel's stomach flipped. A second later she realised this blonde wasn't the one she had come to see. Forgetting her manners in her nervousness, she choked out a "Where's Quinn?"

"You're Rachel Berry," came a simple monotone response.

"Yes, ma'am," Rachel replied, wondering how Quinn's mother knew that. She couldn't remember meeting the woman before.

"You're a good singer," Judy told her simply, those familiar hazel eyes watching the young girl closely, analysing her. Rachel thanked her for the compliment. With a small smile, Judy opened the door wider. "Quinn's in her room."

With a nod of thanks, Rachel stepped into the Fabray household. It was incredibly grand and beautiful, just as she had expected, and, of course, heard about from those who had actually had the pleasure of being invited inside. Under any other circumstances, Rachel would have taken much more notice of her surroundings and offered a polite compliment to the Fabray stood behind her. Instead, she remained quiet and headed toward the stairs. On the third step, she realised she didn't know which room was Quinn's and didn't relish the thought of snooping in rooms in order to discover it. She turned to Judy, in hopes of asking but Judy had beaten her to it.

"Third door on the right, Rachel."

"Thank you," Rachel responded softly, her eyes suddenly finding the glass of what looked like scotch in the older Fabray's hand. Thinking no more about it, Rachel placed her hand on the cool dark wood of the banister and forced each movement of her feet to ascend the stairs. At the top, she could see light spilling out onto the floor from under one of the doors; the third door on the right. There was the soft sound of music drifting out along with the hazy light, the melody muffled by the closed door.

It was a soft, calming sound, Rachel thought as she neared. White painted wood was now directly before her, her toes mere inches from brushing against the object which separated her from the reason she was here. Hesitating, she listened to the music which was now much clearer; though still distorted, Rachel's finely tuned ears easily detected a solemn tone to the melody. Suddenly, the diva's own words from almost three years ago came back to her, causing her eyes to go wide: "_Have you ever liked somebody so much you just wanna lock yourself in your room, turn on sad music and cry?"_

Shaking her head and ridding those words from her mind, she knocked on the door to Quinn's room. She didn't hear any movement from within the room and was just about to knock again when the music stopped and footsteps could be heard approaching the door. An instinctual mechanism caused her to gulp and take a small step back from the blindingly white wood. Could she really do this? Her nerves collected in her throat, her mind racing. She could run; she could disappear down the stairs and out the front door as if she was never here. It would be simple. Easy. But it was too late, the door was already opening.

"Oh – I thought you were my mom."

Focused on her shoes, Rachel didn't see Quinn's surprised face when she spoke. Raising her head slowly, as if hoping for anything to delay what she came here for, the brunette followed those long toned legs clad in green sleep-shorts up to a grey pyjama-clad torso and finally locked eyes with Quinn Fabray. Those deep hazel eyes were red and void of all make-up; it was a harsh realisation to Rachel, to see how much she affected the blonde. Though she had become well aware during the past month how much she did affect Quinn and seen her cry many times, it was still hard to stomach this raw expression of sadness. Quinn had been alone, a girl alone and sheltered in her bedroom where her emotions could flow unhindered and uncontrolled with no fear of another's eyes... and it showed and frankly, it shocked the brunette into a new bout of guilt. It settled viciously in the pit of her stomach, riling up her nerves even more.

"What are you doing here, Rachel?" Quinn asked, avoiding the slight urge to shut the door in the shorter girl's face, her hand anxiously in her short blonde hair. She was in pain right now and simply wanted to be left alone but this was Rachel; she had to know why she was greeted by the diva at this late hour.

The brunette took a deep breath; eyes closed and tried to focus herself. She'd practiced these words over and over on the car journey here; she only had to speak them. It took her a moment or two but she finally managed to breathe out the words. "You were right."

Quinn's lungs suddenly felt like she'd run several laps of the school field, her heart's melodic thrum quickening at Rachel's words. Her sculpted brow lifted slightly in curiosity, waiting for Rachel to continue.

"I _am_ a coward," she said with her eyes cast down, clearly ashamed of herself. Her hands clasped nervously in front of her, unsure of how to present herself in this current situation. Quinn stepped wordlessly away from the door, a silent invitation for the brunette to enter. Rachel hesitated when she entered the room, hearing the door close behind her with an echoing finality. This was it. This was the time when she had to say everything, when she had to stop trying to ignore Quinn and offer her the truth; it was the least the blonde deserved.

She took another deep breath as she stood by the open window, the pale linen curtains drifting softly in the barely-there breeze. "I'm sorry, Quinn. I'm sorry for everything but most recently, I'm sorry for avoiding you." She took another breath, glancing out into the night so that she couldn't be distracted by the blonde hanging on to her every word. "I avoided you so I –so I could avoid myself. I didn't want to be reminded to be reminded of what I had done. What you told me...it shook my entire being, threw so much into question that I couldn't think. I didn't like being so confused and I got angry and took it out on you, on Finn, on everyone."

Quinn never made a sound as Rachel tried to explain herself; she simply listened and tried not to get her hopes up. After all, what were the chances that Rachel would utter the words she'd been waiting for since junior year? As Rachel continued, Quinn leant against her bedpost with her arms crossed, taking in every minute detail.

"I was in a relationship, one I thought I would be in for the rest of my life. I was – I was going to marry him, Quinn," Rachel said with some strange finality, those brown eyes finding Quinn at last, emotions burning like embers in those hazel eyes. "I was going to marry him and then you told me, you know, y-you told me..." Rachel paused, knowing she was losing herself in her sentence, in the memory. She took a deep breath, her heart beating a fast rhythm in her ears. "And then you told me how you felt about me – how you loved me. A-and my world fell apart,"

"I'm sorry," Quinn said, finally speaking. She took a step toward the brunette before stopping herself, choosing instead to sit upon the end of the bed. "I just couldn't let you marry him without knowing."

"I know and I understand that, I really do. I would have done the same if I were in that situation." She paused again, trying to get back on track. "Your admission, well, it made me question a lot of things about myself, about what kind of person I was. I felt guilty and ashamed of myself, it felt like I had cheated on Finn and I know I've done that before but this was different, it was so much bigger than I ever could have believed. I couldn't stay with him when I felt like that."

A short silence fell between the two as Rachel wiped at her eyes. Somehow her body had managed to create a few more tears and these fell much slower than the previous bouts. The taller of the pair removed her gaze from the brunette, not wishing to see the physical expressions of the hurt she had caused marring the diva's face.

"You were right, I was avoiding you," Rachel repeated, chuckling slightly without humour. "I was avoiding you so I could pretend I didn't feel what I did. It was okay before I knew how you felt, I mean, everyone daydreams and can be attracted to people outside their own relationship. It's harmless, probably even healthy but it took me by surprise, that I – that I could have an attraction to the girl who used to torture me."

If Quinn's heart had been loud before, it was deafening now. The blonde could barely believe her own ears; Rachel Berry was standing before her and admitting to having an attraction not only to girls but to Quinn!

"So many people told me I was foolish to be with Finn, to marry him – to get married to _anyone_ at my age. I ignored them, dismissed their pleas and dislike with a childish naivety. But it was _you_ who got me to listen; you were the only one who could ever get through to me." Rachel took a breath, realising she was increasing in speed and needed to calm herself. "I ended it because of _you_. I gave him back the ring because of _you_." Quinn started to speak but Rachel spoke over her. "No, don't apologise. I'm glad you told me; if it had come out after I was married, even five years down the line, it would still have shaken me. My relationship with Finn has never been smooth and underneath it all, it was beyond repair. I forced myself to be blind to it, throwing myself headfirst into the idea of a boyfriend. I'm the one who's sorry-sorry for all the fights between us, with Finn and of course, all of the tears we've caused one another. And I'm sorry for feeling so guilty about my own feelings that I avoided you and treated you how I did, especially earlier today."

"That's okay." Quinn offered, her voice feeling strange in her mouth. How were her vocal chords working after receiving such news? How was she supposed to respond? Instead of reacting, she decided to let the information soak in, clasping her fingers in her lap. Her skin was cold; gooseflesh adorned her exposed skin and the night chill flowed gently around the room. A brief thought passed through her mind, knowing she should be embarrassed about her current attire and how she surely looked terrible from crying all afternoon. But she strangely didn't care about her physical appearance right now; she was more concerned with the situation she had found herself in. Whatever situation that could be described as.

"No, it isn't Quinn, I feel awful. It's the single most horrific feeling I've ever experienced." Rachel told her, exasperated with herself, lifting her fisted hands in frustration.

"You always did feel so much more than the average human being," Quinn mused with a smile. She didn't really know how she felt about what she had learned, her emotions were scattered and she felt a little numb. She fell back upon her bed, her legs still hanging from the foot of the bed, sighing softly. What she did know was that she felt lighter somehow, the weight of the world no longer pressed relentlessly on her shoulders. She felt relieved.

"It's the curse I have to bear," Rachel responded and for the first time since that day in the auditorium, she finally seemed to relax. Without really looking where she was going, the singer leant against the nearest object, which turned out to be Quinn's dresser. She allowed her weight to be held by the solid structure; she suddenly felt very weak, as if the stresses which had fuelled her body for the past month had finally dissolved, leaving behind a tired, fragile body ransacked by tears, anger and sleepless nights. Was it finally over? Would she finally be able to sleep unaided by her father's insomnia pills? She hoped so.

The two girls allowed this somewhat calm finality to wash over them for several minutes, allowing it to soak into their veins and slow their erratic heartbeats back to a reasonably normal pace. In those moments it felt like there would be no more tears, no more anger. In the newfound peace of Quinn Fabray's bedroom, the sound of the crickets could be heard drifting in through the open window, echoing nature's rhythm.

"Where does this leave us?" Quinn breathed, breaking the silence. She had to know.  
"I honestly don't know, Quinn," Rachel responded just as softly. "I still feel guilty about all of this and I'm pained by all the hurt I've caused. I don't think I'm ready for a relationship with anyone right now."

"Rachel," Quinn began and sat up from her previous horizontal position to look at the brunette leaning against her dresser. "I'm not asking for anything right now. I'm not asking for anything _ever_ if you don't want. But we have the whole summer in front of us before we both go off to college. If you wouldn't mind, I would like to spend it as your friend,"

"I would very much like to be your friend, Quinn." Rachel admitted, watching the blonde from under thick lashes. It suddenly dawned on the brunette that she wasn't exactly an expert with friendships, she didn't make friends easy and in a moment of panic, she didn't know _how_ to be friends with Quinn. "Where do we go from here?"

"Well, you do owe me a coffee," Quinn said with a smile, offering a little humour to diffuse the tangible emotions in the atmosphere. Rachel's irrational panic of a few moments previous was forgotten at those words and she smiled. It was a genuine smile and somehow Quinn knew that they, Rachel and herself, well, they were going to be just fine from now on.

-X-

**AN: Still here? How about a quick review :)**

**Next chapter returns to Quinn and Santana in the 'present day' and that little New Haven apartment. The next chapter will be shorter than this one, just needs a few tweaks then it'll be up. Stay tuned x**


	3. Chapter Three: Pink

**AN: Sorry this one is so short but it's basically just a little filler between the previous chapter and the next.**

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**Present Day: New Haven, CT**

**Pink**

It had been hot in the night and Quinn's bedroom had a habit of getting unbelievably stuffy. Her sleep had been drastically shortened due to the heat as she tossed and turned, her hair sticking to her forehead. Too lazy to actually get out of bed and open the window, the blonde merely pushed her duvet to the floor and whipped off her shirt, leaving her only in her sleep shorts. She flipped over her pillow to rest on the cool side and that was as much movement as she was prepared to do. Thankfully, she managed to get another few hours sleep before sunrise.

Santana was apparently an early riser these days and had helped herself to a shower which unfortunately woke a very tired Quinn. The bathroom shared a wall with Quinn's bedroom and Santana was making an unbelievable racket for someone simply taking a morning shower. Quinn scowled at the noises, scrunching her eyes as tightly shut as she possibly could. She did not want to wake up yet. When the pillow thrust over her head proved to be a failure at masking Santana's noise, the blonde sighed loudly and thrust the pillow away to make a point that it was all the Latina's fault; it didn't matter that said Latina couldn't see this outburst. Reaching out across the floor without leaving the mattress, the tired twenty-five year old grabbed her shirt and pulled it over her head as she sat upright. She swung her bare feet out of bed onto the thick green carpet with as much effort as she could muster. She sank her head into her hands, rubbing at her tired eyes. She stayed there for a few moments, wondering how many times one person could drop the goddamn shampoo bottle. Sighing again, she pushed herself off of the bed and out into the living room, irritated at her lack of sleep. She was pleased to find that the living room was wonderfully cool."

After finding the remote halfway down the side of the couch, Quinn flicked the television on and selected whatever looked like the least mind-numbing for morning shows. She didn't last long in front of the screen, feeling her intelligence melting at the sight of the bickering families on national television. She quickly switched channels as the stage greeted a Mexican couple who had had a bad break up. With the sound of whatever she'd left on the screen dulled by the noise of the shower, Quinn exited the living room and tried to occupy herself a little.

In her small kitchen, she set about making herself and her noisy guest some breakfast. As the kettle boiled, Quinn heard the shower finally turn off with an unfamiliar clank and she prayed it wasn't broken. She vaguely wondered if there would be any hot water left for her as she called out a "Morning," so her friend knew she was awake – as if the horrendous racket hadn't been enough of an indication that half the building was now awake.

"Morning!" came a loud yell in response as a hair dryer suddenly burst into life.

"More noise – fantastic," Quinn muttered sarcastically as the toast popped up, a perfect golden brown.

Quinn slathered her toast in butter and put it on a plate before setting about making her morning coffee. The little packet of instant stuff was nothing like the fresh coffees she loved but it was a) all she could afford on a regular basis, b) decent enough to swallow and c) she was too tired to get ready to go out and buy fresh coffee just to return back to her apartment to drink it with her breakfast.

The blonde had finished her toast, drank the last dregs of her coffee and wasted a whole fifteen minutes of her life watching a cartoon show for three year olds before the hair dryer was silenced. But the racket still wasn't over and Quinn rolled her eyes. Only Santana could be this noisy in a morning when it _didn't_ involve sex.

"Hey, Quinn?" called Santana from the bathroom. "Why do you have three bottles of pink hair dye in the bathroom cabinet?"

"Just because I let you stay here doesn't give you the right to snoop through my belongings," she called back as she absently flicked through channels again hoping to find a documentary or something that would stimulate her mind. There was absolutely nothing on at this time in a morning, yet another reason she disliked being up this early; there was a lack of entertainment.

The bathroom door opened and a vast column of steam escaped alongside a towel-clad Santana who came to stand in the doorway. "Q, why do you have it?" insisted the dark-haired Latina, one of the brown bottles of dye in her hand.

"Emergencies," Quinn replied honestly, her free hand now in her shoulder length hair. She hadn't had pink hair for a good eight months now and it had grown a few inches in that time too. She didn't really know why she felt the need to revert to that pink style whenever something bad happened to her; it just seemed to work. That apathy toward life, that attention from strangers in the street and the confidence it brought with it. In times of emergencies, times akin to the situation she was currently in, Quinn took a pair of scissors to her hair and opened that cabinet knowing she could change the sad little girl who stared back at her from the mirror. She could become someone else, at least for a little while. And as someone else, her own problems could be pushed to the back of her mind and she could breathe again, for a while.

"Shouldn't you get dressed?" Quinn asked with a nod at Santana who clutched the beige coloured towel around herself. It sported a few pink hair dye marks that had stained the fabric but Quinn didn't care; it'd only get more on it so it would be reckless to throw it out and buy another. Santana's long dark hair was, as usual, immaculate despite the slight static that came from drying it. It provided a beautiful contrast against the shade of her flawless skin.

"I'm wearing underwear, it's fine," Santana told her with a smirk, coming further into the room. "I don't plan on giving you a free show." Quinn winced as Santana's words stimulated a slightly more recent memory, one which was full of pain and hurt and anger. And Santana knew exactly what it was. "Shit, sorry. I didn't think."

"It's fine," Quinn told her with tight lips, trying to push those arguments out of her mind and back into her subconscious. "What were you saying?"

"The pink hair dye,"

"I told you, it's for emergencies,"

"What kind of _emergencies_?" pressed Santana, understandably curious. The Latina had thought Quinn had long outgrown the skank phase of her life; she barely even remembered it. She knew that Quinn looked good like that (granted, Quinn could pull off almost anything) but she did admit to herself that Quinn looked pretty attractive with that shock of pink hair. But all these years later, why did she still have the pink dye in her bathroom and why would she need _three_ bottles of the stuff?

"Emergencies." Quinn repeated with a sigh. "An emergency is when I remember," she shrugged and wondered if she would dye her hair this time. She doubted it; she had Santana here with her. She had her confidant, her best friend and her rock. It was hard to need to be someone else when Santana was there to help her get back to herself and to hold her when she needed. Hell, Santana would kill for her if she only asked. Her criminal record wasn't exactly clean considering she was a Lima Heights girl. Yes, she surmised, maybe she could stay blonde and have her hair longer during this time of remembrance; Santana hadn't been around for the last few times. Yes, perhaps with Santana as her safety net, Quinn would be able to breathe and stay herself.

-X-

**AN: Review please?**

**Back to 2012 in the next chapter, stay tuned for** The Night On The Roof.


	4. Chapter Four: The Night On The Roof

**AN: Again, not the longest chapter but a relatively key one. Enjoy x**

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**2012: Lima, OH**

**The Night on the Roof**

The night was cool but the two eighteen-year old girls sitting atop of the porch roof weren't cold; in fact, the night air was a nice respite from the heat of the day. One sat only in sleep shorts and a camisole of a matching design while the other had driven here a couple of hours ago, still wearing the red and black tight-fitting outfit from the day.

"Is it like this every Thursday night?" Santana asked, indicating with the hand which held her drink in the direction of the noise. Quinn nodded from Santana's side, her hands clasped around her knees. It was her mother's book club night and the eleven or so housewives – and the occasional house-husband – could never handle their drinks. It didn't take long for them to talk several decibels above tolerable levels and they soon gave Quinn a headache. Quinn often found solstice out on the porch roof she could access through her bedroom window. She would sit for hours watching the stars or usually reading a book by the glow of the streetlight. Tonight, however, she was joined by one Santana Lopez.

"That sucks," she responded and took another sip of the brandy she'd managed to swipe on her way up to Quinn's room. Without school or Cheerios practice, the two girls saw each other less than usual but both still made the effort to keep their friendship alive. They'd been through too much together to let their relationship die like so many other high-school friendships. "I'm glad I came here tonight, Q," Santana said with her eyes looking at the bottom of her glass, her bare foot rolling a twig back and forth against the roof-tiles. "I needed to get away from it all for a little while."

"I'm glad you came here too," Quinn told her with a slight nudge and a smile. "I'm here any time you need me."

"I'll remember that," Santana said with a nudge of her own. She knew she could always count on Quinn to be there for her, rain or shine and she knew that she would always reciprocate that. If Quinn ever needed her, she would be there to protect and comfort her as soon as she possibly could. The dark haired only-just-eighteen year old smiled to herself knowing that she and Quinn would be friends for the rest of their lives; it was a comforting feeling, to know that at least one thing in her life was concrete, that it wasn't going to change. Her mind drifted back to the reasons why she found herself on the Fabray's porch roof and she felt a hard ball forming in her throat again. She choked it back and decided she needed to distract herself. "How are you and Berry?"

"That was a swift change of topic, San," Quinn noted with a chuckle. Santana was the first to know of Quinn's feelings about Rachel and was now the only one Quinn confided in about the relationship. It wasn't that she didn't trust her other friends with deeper knowledge, she just trusted Santana more; what the girls had been through together gave them a deep and mutual understanding of the other.

"A topic I wanna talk about," Santana encouraged with a grin and a wiggle of her dark eyebrows. "You've been hanging out with her for what, three weeks now? How're you holding up?"

"I'm not 'holding up', I'm fine. No, seriously, I am," she added after a questioning look from her best friend. Rachel and Quinn had been spending a lot of time together since that night in Quinn's room, almost every day they saw each other. What started off as slightly awkward coffee in The Lima Bean developed into going to movies, spending evenings with Rachel's parents and just generally hanging out. "I like having Rachel as my friend. It's nice."

"Just nice?"

"Okay, maybe nice was the wrong word," the blonde countered, trying to put what she felt into a coherent sentence. She spoke with her hands as she struggled for the right way to word it. "What I mean is that I'm happy just to have her in my life. This is Rachel, San. I've spent four years loving her and wanting a closer relationship with her. If friendship is as close as that relationship goes, I'm okay with that. I'm more than okay with it because I have her. And I guess, in a weird little way, she's sort of _mine_."

"But what if she meets someone, Q? I'm not saying she will and I still think she's too into you to keep her distance forever, but what if? How're you going to deal with the girl you've loved for four years loving someone else?" Santana's voice wavered slightly at still ever present memories and Quinn offered the Latina a hand which was gratefully taken and squeezed.

"I've already watched her love someone else, remember? She almost married him. I've felt that pain and if it happens again, I'll just have to find a way to both deal with it and support her in that decision. Yes, it'll hurt but I'd have to deal with the fact she didn't choose me; I can't force her to love me. I won't ask her for anything more than what we have; I'll let things move at her pace whether they progress or not,"

"And you'd be really be happy with just friendship?"

"Like I said, I'm happy as long as I have her in my life," Quinn told her, looking up into the night sky. Santana's head moved to settle on the slightly taller blonde's shoulder. The light breeze played with their hair but neither made any attempt to move it for they were in a different place, lost in their thoughts. For those few moments, the two best friends sat like that in the silence thinking about two very different girls. Looking up at the stars, Quinn softly whispered "She's Rachel Berry," as if it was a legitimate point that explained everything she felt, and in a way, it kind of did.

A few minutes passed before there was a small cough, a cautious clearing of the throat. Quinn was too lost in her thoughts to notice but Santana glanced curiously into the open window of Quinn's bedroom and spotted a figure standing inside the room shyly, afraid they'd interrupted something. A figure who had spent the last hour and half debating whether or not to come over here at all.

A smile passed Santana's lips and she stood with a "Speak of the devil," taking another sip of her drink. At Santana's words, Quinn turned to the window and spotted Rachel. She was standing with her hands clasped in front of her, clearly fighting the desire not to interrupt and the desire not to leave.

Santana walked carefully along the roof back toward the window and to Rachel. "Go on out," Santana said as she crouched to climb back inside. "I was just leaving."

"You don't have to leave on my account, Santana." Rachel told her courteously. Her tone was polite, her manners impeccable but the singer really didn't want Santana to stay; she'd expected Quinn to be alone tonight which had given her the confidence to come over in the first place.

Santana's feet landed on soft beige carpet, her heeled shoes resting beside the desk. "Like I said, I was already leaving," Santana told her with a comforting smile. All three girls knew this wasn't true but no one said anything. As she pulled on her shoes, Santana handed Rachel the glass that was still half full of brandy. "You keep that," she said with a wink. "Liquid confidence and all that," she continued at a volume low enough so Quinn wouldn't hear.

Rachel furrowed her eyebrows with a glance at the bronze liquid in the glass. "Why would I...?" she wondered if Santana was psychic for just a second, curious as to whether she knew the reasons why she was here. But she quickly dismissed this thought with a mental wave of her hand, she was being ridiculous and she knew it. Her thoughts were private and if she were to share them, it would be with the blonde she intended to see.

Santana shook her head with a chuckle, amused at the diva's apparent confusion; she really did enjoy teasing the shorter girl sometimes. She turned back to the window, her heels back on her feet. "Thanks for the talk, Q," she told her appreciatively with a small wave and a smile. "I really needed it."

"Anytime, San, I'm always here." Quinn responded, returning the wave.

Santana turned to leave but just before she passed Rachel, she placed a hand on the shorter girl's shoulder and leant in slightly, her voice low again. "She's all yours," and with that, Santana left a puzzled Quinn and a wondering Rachel and began her journey back home to Lima Heights Adjacent.

The two remaining girls watched one another for a few moments as they heard the sound of Santana's loud engine rev several times before disappearing into the distance. "I can come inside if you prefer?" asked Quinn, wondering if Rachel had a fear of heights. The roof of the porch wasn't exactly high but it would appear to be unsafe to someone afraid of not being on solid ground.

After a moment's deliberation, Rachel responded with a "No, it's okay," and managed to climb out of the window unaided. It was a little higher than she initially expected but she bravely made her way over to Quinn, albeit slightly slowly. Santana's drink was still in her hand and she spotted an untouched glass of the stuff next to Quinn. "Is it a regular occurrence for you to drink alcohol on a roof, Quinn? It doesn't seem very safe."

Quinn smiled. "Santana grabbed the glasses on her way in. I'm sure you noticed the alcohol-fuelled book club downstairs,"

"That was a book club?!" asked a shocked Rachel, her voice several octaves higher in her surprise. "I thought people who attended book clubs were reserved and respectable."

"It's funny what alcohol can do to people," Quinn said and picked up the brandy glass by her side, tipping the untouched contents over the roof tiles and watched as it ran down the slope. "Can you not sleep?" Quinn asked, knowing Rachel had a very strict self-imposed bedtime routine and it was well past that bedtime.

"Something like that," Rachel mused, her legs stretched out in front of her as she gained confidence that she wasn't going to slip off the roof. "My thoughts wouldn't leave me alone long enough to rest."

"Is there something wrong?" Quinn asked, slightly worried and turned to face her friend. The chestnut coloured hair seemed much darker in the night, almost black, but her natural highlights shone under the glow of the streetlight.

"No, there's nothing wrong Quinn," the brunette assured her with a smile. She paused, wondering how to word the explanation as to why she had turned up at the other side of town at eleven-thirty on a Thursday night. She'd practiced it in her mind but words seemed lost to her now and she cursed herself internally.

It was during Rachel's mental conversation with herself that Quinn noticed that beneath that red coat, Rachel was wearing pyjamas. The long pink bottoms she wore were tucked in a pair of beige booted slippers. "Did you get out of bed and come straight here?"

Rachel nodded. "I didn't see a need to get changed to come see you,"

"Why couldn't you sleep?"

"Did you mean what you said to Santana?" Rachel asked bluntly, ignoring Quinn's question.

Quinn's mouth opened and closed, no sound escaping; she didn't realise Rachel had heard their conversation. Rachel, despite her previous bluntness, acknowledged she may have crossed some line or caused Quinn some discomfort and quickly continued. "I'm sorry, I know it's rude to eavesdrop but I heard my name and naturally, I was curious."

"That's ah – that's understandable," the blonde managed, her cheeks turning pink in the moonlight.

"So, did you mean what you said?" pressed Rachel, determined brown eyes focused on glittering hazel.

"Which part?" the ex-cheerio captain asked, wondering how much Rachel had heard.

"The part where you said you're happy simply having me in your life,"

"Oh, that part," Quinn swallowed, slightly embarrassed. "Yeah, I did. I meant every word."

"Good," Rachel said simply and relaxed, as if some kind of weight had been lifted from her shoulders. "Excellent in fact," she added with a smile, as if she were remembering a private joke from long ago.

Quinn raised an eyebrow in confusion. She was about to speak but a soft hand was placed atop of hers, fingers lacing between her own. Those hazel eyes watched those slow, deliberate movements as if it were someone else, as if that was not her own hand that was now safely cocooned in Rachel's grasp. The sensation felt somewhat foreign to her, as if she were feeling it in a phantom limb, as if her hand had been numb and was only just regaining feeling.

Those hazel eyes, which began to shimmer with happiness, followed those entwined hands up a long tan arm to meet soft brown eyes framed by midnight lashes watching her closely, a smile dancing in their corners. There was an unspoken question on Quinn's lips. Rachel understood and nodded; she was sure. She'd been thinking about it a while, most recently on this very night when the thoughts had kept her from sleep.

Their hearts were racing and their breathing shallow. The cool night felt warm and stifling all of a sudden. The sounds from the book club drowned out into silence though the party was still going on; neither girl could hear or see anything other than the one sat beside them bathed in the moonlight and the orange glow of the streetlight.

Rachel began to lean toward Quinn and the taller girl found herself doing the same, her movements alien and yet so familiar at the same time. When she blinked, she found herself inches away from the brunette, her hand on Rachel's cheek with no recollection of moving it there. This was it; this was what she had thought would never happen, what she could only imagine for years. Rachel Berry was seconds away from being kissed by a girl, by Quinn.

"Sure?" managed Quinn to speak, already breathless. She needed more reassurance; she needed to be absolutely certain. She couldn't comprehend what she would feel if Rachel regretted this, she needed to be sure beforehand.

"Completely," Rachel responded softly, just as breathless. A smile was shared for a mere moment between the two girls before Quinn's lips finally touched Rachel's. It was a gentle and unhurried kiss, their lips tenderly pressing against the others. The moments passed slowly, their previous fears and anxieties about how they felt melting away as each girl became completely absorbed by the kiss. Quinn was the one who pulled back, her heart beating hard in her chest. Rachel's eyes were still closed and Quinn took those few precious moments to watch her; she felt almost frozen by the realisation of what had just happened. She had just kissed Rachel Berry, the girl she had longed after for so long. It wasn't anticlimactic like she had feared it might have been; in fact, it was better than she could ever have imagined.

Rachel's eyes opened slowly as if she had just awoken from a peaceful dream; those brown eyes found hazel and refused to let go of their gaze. Flecks of gold shimmered in those beautiful eyes, accentuated by the glow of the moon and Quinn found herself admiring this new aspect of Rachel she had never seen before: post-first-kiss. There was something about a person after they had shared a kiss with someone; Quinn had seen it before not just with her own first kisses but also with others she had witnessed. For those few moments, emotions are plain to see on their face, their soul laid bare in a language only the other can read.

"You look so beautiful," Quinn said so softly it was almost a whisper. Her hand still rested upon Rachel's cheek, a barely there touch as if Rachel would break with too much pressure. She was in utter awe of the girl before her and Rachel could see it written plain as day in those hazel eyes. Rachel's eyes flickered down at those words, but only for a moment. Her midnight lashes surrounded darkened shining eyes that locked on Quinn's once again; a blush crept onto the brunette's already flushed cheeks. A bashful smile glided over her face and she pulled at her bottom lip, holding it tightly between her teeth as she read the truth in those flecks of green and gold; no one had ever told her that with so much feeling, so much conviction that she wholeheartedly believed them. No one had ever kissed her like Quinn had; it was like her first kiss all over again with nerves, excitement and all that magic without that niggling disappointment.

Rachel couldn't speak, something almost unheard of about the brunette. She knew that anything worth saying would be clear to read in her eyes; actual words weren't important right now. Instead her hand which still rested on the back of Quinn's neck gently drew the blonde back to where their lips met once more. Excitement and electricity still lingered between the two young women but that initial nervousness slowly ebbed away; with this newfound confidence, Rachel found herself moving even closer to Quinn so that the two could embrace. Their arms went around the other as their lips continued to move, hearts racing. Like the first, this kiss too came to an end and a breathless Rachel rested her head in the crook of Quinn's neck. She felt so much in that moment; everything and nothing all at once and it was exhilarating, intoxicating even.

Quinn held the shorter girl closer, not caring about the awkward angle or how the roof had stopped being a comfortable seat about twenty minutes ago. All she cared about in that moment was that Rachel was in her arms and she was finally hers; she'd had no verbal confirmation but she knew, she had seen it all on Rachel's face and knew she had been hers a while.

-X-

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**AN: Review? It's really appreciated whether it's just a few words or more. Tell me what you do and don't like, what your predictions are or absolutely anything you like. **

**Chapter Five **Dawn **coming soon.**


	5. Chapter Five: Dawn

**AN: Another short one but these 'present day' ones were originally attached to their corresponding 'past' chapters. My apologies on it's shortness. **

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**Present Day: New Haven, CT**

**Dawn**

It was hot in the night again and, torn from a sweaty nightmare, Quinn forced herself to swing her feet out of the bed and onto the ground. For a few moments, she just sat there with her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. It had been a dream, it was a dream until the second she woke up and it was no longer real. That's what made it a nightmare. She got them so often; it was rare for her to dream about anything or anyone else. Memories and fictitious imaginations; it was her brain's cruel nightly torture.

She pressed her hands hard against her head, dragging them backwards through her hair, pushing the sweaty locks away from her face. She knew full well she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep in this heat and if she did, she'd probably just end up falling back into that nightmare where nothing bad happened until she woke up.

She stood and opened up her window to let the night air into the room that currently felt more like a sauna. The air outside wasn't cool enough but it was a nice respite from the suffocating darkness which surrounded her. For a little while she let the slight breeze drift over her skin, her eyes closed as she tried to find a happy place to eradicate the dream – nightmare – from her mind. A sigh escaped her lips, soft and morose; she didn't have a happy place if the person from her dreams wasn't a part of it.

Quinn, with another hand pushing through her hair, left her bedroom and entered the cooler air-conditioned kitchen and living area where Santana was snoring softly on the sofa under a thick blanket. She left all the lights off and moved as quietly as she could so not to disturb her fellow ex-cheerio. It was a calming thought to know that her best friend was so close. Without her, Quinn would probably be considering standing in her bathroom with a pair of scissors in her hand and the pink dye sitting ready by the sink as the extractor fan whirred its song of despair.

"Thank you," Quinn whispered softly toward the slumbering Latina. She knew Santana wouldn't hear but it didn't matter; she was just so grateful to not be alone in her life for however long Santana could stay. It was a rarity to see her best friend; Santana had a busy job over in Albany which rarely gave her more than a weekend vacation. The rest of the time Quinn was alone with her thoughts, only occasionally meeting people from college for a coffee or a drink somewhere.

Making her way to the kitchen, Quinn carefully got one of the glasses out of the cupboards and ran the tap, trying to be as quiet as she could. Something in her peripheral vision caught her eye. Even in the darkness of the kitchen with only the light of the coming dawn supplying any relief from the pitch-black of the night, the photo blared out its existence to the blonde.

The glass in her hand had almost slipped to the tiled floor when she noticed it, her reflexes thankfully meaning she kept a firm grip on the empty glass. The photo was face down, the white background was all that could be seen but the image was scorched in Quinn's mind; she couldn't avoid it no matter how hard she tried.

Tearing her eyes away, she put the glass down and put her hands under the still running tap and splashed her face with the cold water several times before filling the glass and downing the contents in one go. With only a short respite to breathe, she filled another and downed that too. The hand that held the glass shook, trembling. She watched as it quivered, hypnotised by the movement as her mind flashed various memories back at her. She squeezed her eyes shut, almost wincing from the pain she felt in her heart.

"How can you still have such power over me?" she mused, opening her shimmering eyes and directing her gaze toward that simple white rectangle discarded on the counter. She knew she was being ridiculous, questioning an inanimate object but her words were directed more at the subject of the photo.

The first rays of sunlight broke free of the horizon and crept into apartment four on the second floor; it was going to be a beautiful day. Quinn didn't notice; she didn't even care. All she was concerned with right now was what she was going to do. Here she was, trapped in her own kitchen because of a photograph. It was ridiculous and she knew it but she could barely move as her brain continued to torture her with memories, with unforgotten kisses and painful heartbreak.

She exhaled, her lungs burning from holding her breath for so long. She thought of the mantra she had so often told herself, one which had always failed: a mantra telling herself to not think about Rachel Berry. Quinn had to face this head on, she just had to; if she kept avoiding that photo, she would never be able to move past it. Rachel's memory haunted her and the only way to stop herself going insane would be to confront her ghost.

Quinn set down her glass and replaced it with the photo which caused her so much pain. The paper felt thicker than she remembered, the film glossy and smooth under her thumb which gently ran down the edge. Water collected in the blonde's eyes, her throat felt thick at the assault on her heart.

It truly was an excellent photo, one of the best Quinn had ever taken. The backdrop alone was stunning. A vast lake encircled by a thick green forest with the majestic mountains visible in the background with the sky a bright and perfect blue. It was Quinn's favourite place growing up and had already held happy memories before the memory captured on film that she held in her hand. Her blurring eyes then focused on the most beautiful part of the photo and indeed Quinn's entire life; the one and only Rachel Berry. The slight breeze had pulled at that long shining hair as Quinn had crouched on the ground, strands of soft brown in front of bright chocolate eyes that the singer tried to move back into place mid-laugh just as Quinn snapped the picture. There was a careless ease and intoxicating happiness that surrounded the twenty year old Rachel within the photo; she was so easily pleased and had a natural joy of life that was perfectly infectious.

Quinn Fabray, alone in the morning light which was streaming into the apartment, smiled at the photo and the memories of her life with Rachel Berry as a single tear rolled down her cheek and landed right in the centre of the image.

-X-

**AN: Review?**

**Sorry for the lateness and shortness: I was swamped with University work and assignments were due in close together. Stay tuned.**


	6. Chapter Six: A Photographic Memory

**2014: Ferrisburgh, VT**

**A Photographic Memory**

The car journey had been long and Rachel, with her never-depleting energy, was getting a little jumpy in the car from her lack of movement. So much so that when they stopped for gas, the little diva was out of the car before Quinn had even popped the cap for gas. Inside the gas station with its small selection of goods, Rachel was circling endlessly for something to entertain her for the remaining journey of which Quinn wouldn't tell her the destination or how long it would take to get there. When Quinn had paid for fuelling her car, Rachel returned with a big smile and an even bigger stack of magazines.

"Got enough there, Rach?" Quinn said with a smirk, starting up the car as Rachel pulled on her seatbelt and opened the first of the magazines. The brunette merely fluttered her eyelashes at Quinn, who smirked at the cute action. For the next half an hour or so, the brunette was absorbed in what she was reading, occasionally reading various articles out loud that she thought Quinn would be interested in.

Rachel didn't even notice when Quinn turned off of the highway and rolled onto a narrow two lane road. The countryside completely surrounded them but only Quinn was paying it any attention. Everywhere she looked there was different shade of green; the dark pine trees, the lush long grass surrounding the trunks of the trees, the fields with vast crops as far as the eye could see. A few twists and bends later, the fields were long gone and were replaced with the thick forest lining both sides of the practically empty road. Quinn's peripheral vision was occupied with the blurring green of the trees while above, tinted from her dark shades, the bright blue sky was flawless and freeing, unmarred by any clouds. Rolling down her window for a little fresh air, the sound of birds happily chirping in the trees flowed into the vehicle, the warm breeze swirling in the girls' hair.

The new noise and the breeze pulled Rachel's eyes from the Broadway article she was currently absorbed in to look out of the window. Quinn smiled when she saw the diva's jaw slacken slightly as took in the view. "It's beautiful," she whispered unnecessarily. Rachel had always been a city girl at heart, New York practically beat in her chest but she was in awe of her surroundings right now. She could easily see the appeal of living in such a place for one's whole life. She sighed wistfully as Quinn continued to drive down the road, the occasional patch of water springing up in the larger breaks between the trees. As beautiful as this was, she knew New York would always be home; here, places like this, this was where she would want to come to relax.

"Okay, close your eyes," came Quinn's voice after driving down the road for a good ten minutes. "We're nearly there."

"Close my eyes?" questioned Rachel, her gaze settling upon her girlfriend of two years. It was no longer strange to call Quinn Fabray 'her girlfriend', not even in her own mind; it was just so perfectly natural. And when the said girlfriend was as beautiful and charming as Quinn; it was a term that was used frequently with a great sense of pride. "You're not recreating a scene from one of those awful horror films you watch, are you? Where I'm abandoned in a wood and chased by some cannibals or something?"

"You're such a drama queen," Quinn laughed, one hand on the steering wheel and the other readjusting the dark frames on her nose. She took her eyes off of the road a moment to lock eyes with Rachel. "Just close your eyes for me, just for a little while. Please?"

The brunette seemed to contemplate it for a few moments, her lip attractively worried between her teeth. "Okay," she said with a wide grin and clasped her hands over her eyes so she wouldn't be tempted to peek. "But just to make sure you're aware, I'm only doing this because you said _please_."

Quinn chuckled softly, shaking her head a little. A little further down the road, she waved her right hand in front of Rachel's face, checking that she couldn't see. Satisfied, Quinn slowed the car and took one of the turn-offs into the forest. Her little Beetle wasn't exactly accustomed to driving on uneven dirt tracks like this and so the pair was jolted to and fro over every single bump.

"You're not going to drive over a cliff, are you?" asked a slightly concerned Rachel as she grasped her seatbelt tightly to steady herself. She kept her eyes covered but she no longer knew whether it was because she had been asked or because she didn't want to see that they were indeed hurtling toward a cliff.

"Of course not," Quinn told her, her heart beginning to race with excitement. Almost every summer through her school years had been spent in this very place. It was full of fond memories; happier times with her parents. After the divorce, her mom swore never to return and handed Quinn the key. That same key resided in Quinn's pocket, the single wooden key-ring pressing into the flesh of Quinn's thigh. When the summer had finally rolled around, Rachel had mentioned wanting to go on a vacation that would be just the two of them, as a couple; no parents and their 'nightly checks', no Santana or Puck who dragged them out to 'enjoy' the nightlife. Naturally, Quinn's mind went to the single key on the wooden key-ring and she instantly knew where she could take Rachel; she never mentioned this place to her, she kept it all very secret in hopes of being romantic.

The car finally rolled onto smoother earth, the vehicle much steadier as the magnificent view presented itself as the trees parted before them. No matter how familiar it was to the blonde, no matter how many summers she woke up to this view, it never ceased to take her breath away. The mountains, the trees, the lake, the wooden cabin with the long jetty out into the water; it was all so beautiful.

"Keep your eyes closed," Quinn told her as she parked the car near the cabin and climbed out of the car. She stretched her back a little to ease the stiffness from the long drive before hurrying to Rachel's door. Taking the brunette's arm, Quinn guided Rachel out of her seat and toward the lake to give her the best view when she finally opened her eyes. Her hands dropped to the brunette's small hips, holding her close.

The brunette continued to force herself not to peek as she wondered where on earth Quinn had brought her. She could hear the soft buzz of a few bees, the rustling of leaves from the soft warm breeze and the gentle slapping of water against a shore. The sun was warm on her bare arms and she felt Quinn's cooler hands draw slowly and purposely up the length of Rachel's body, across her shoulders. Fingers skimmed her collar bone and then traced along her neck and over her jaw, causing gooseflesh to break out over the tingling skin. Quinn's hands then took Rachel's, pulling them away from her closed eyes and a soft whisper sounded in her ear. "Open your eyes."

Rachel, quivering with anticipation, had no way to prepare herself for what she saw when she opened her eyes. It was breathtaking. The young singer felt moved by the lake, the trees, the mountains, by every little detail. It felt almost magical. She spotted the large rustic looking cabin which had large glass windows so that not one part of the view would be lost inside.

"Who owns this place?" was all she managed to say as her eyes roamed the shoreline and spotted the little green wooden boat by the jetty.

"I do," Quinn said proudly from behind the brunette. Tearing her eyes from the view, Rachel turned to face her taller girlfriend. "My mother gave it to me after the divorce; this whole area is mine. It's another three miles to the next house."

"This is amazing," Rachel said softly and stood upon her tiptoes to place a kiss on the blonde's lips. "Thank you for bringing me here."

The two stood on the daisy littered grass for several moments, simply taking in the view and breathing in the fresh air. In the warmth, Rachel suggested that the two change into their swimwear and so they collected their things from the car and headed toward the cabin. A short wooden walkway led them to the front door. Quinn took out her key and unlocked the heavy door, the thick wood swinging open.

"Oh my god," Rachel breathed as she took in the decor. It was clear that no expense was spared when the place was decorated with its stone walls and thick timber. Just inside the door was a small hallway which ran the length of the building, the floor sporting a glass design through which the lake below could be seen. It was unbelievable and Rachel's jaw remained slack as she gingerly walked on the glass peering in the rooms that all lead off of this one hallway. There was a fully functioning kitchen in dark wood with its own water feature on one wall which drew water right from the lake; a small study with uninterrupted views out onto the water; a large bathroom with double shower and dark slate tiles; a comfortable living area with a fireplace which took up an entire wall and three bedrooms toward the back. Quinn led Rachel to the largest of the three, pulling her away from the high ceilinged living room before the girl could start testing the acoustics.

In the bedroom, Rachel found more white furniture like in the living area. Here, only one wall had the floor-to-ceiling windows which had thin voile curtains either side. A regal looking four-poster bed took centre stage, draped in white linen.

"And this is all yours?" Rachel asked, dropping onto the bed and bouncing a little with the momentum.

Quinn nodded with a smile, watching the brunette looking over everything with a childlike delight. Everything in this place was hers now; including Rachel. Rachel was hers and hers alone and just thinking that gave her butterflies. Rachel Berry, the only girl she had ever truly loved, the girl she had bullied relentlessly in her desire to deny herself and her feelings, the girl who had kissed her on the roof.

Quinn was still smiling when Rachel dove into her suitcase, rummaging until she found her swimwear and dashed into the en-suite to change. The blonde chuckled, calling out that she needn't hide while changing. She could practically see Rachel's blush through the closed door. The blonde moved to collect her own swim things and quickly pulled them on. "I'll meet you outside," Quinn said through the bathroom door.

Leaving the cabin, which was much larger than the word cabin could ever suggest, Quinn relished the feeling of the warm sun on her skin. It was so nice to feel the breeze circling around her after spending so long in the car. Her eyes followed the shore all around the lake, taking in every detail of this magnificent place.

When Rachel finally joined her, they ended up chasing each other around on the grass playfully. Their laughter was infectious and filled the air. They felt completely carefree as they dodged one another by using the picnic table. Eventually, Rachel somehow managed to catch Quinn off her guard and directed her onto the jetty with no place to go but the water. A devilish smile played across Rachel's lips as she edged forward, forcing Quinn to take a step back. Both were breathing heavily, wide smiles on their faces, their cheeks aching from previous laughter. But now, Quinn was cornered and her competitive nature was in a showdown with Rachel's. The blonde didn't know how she'd managed to get herself in this situation; she never expected Rachel to be able to win like this. Though Quinn didn't mind losing to Rachel if the situation called for it, she didn't like that cocky glint in the brunette's eyes. Quinn smirked back at the singer, tempting her to try and catch her. If she couldn't win outright, she would at least win by default.

Then Rachel ran toward Quinn with her arms outstretched, fully believing she was about to capture the blonde. The blonde was confident she wouldn't be caught and jogged the short distance to the end of the jetty and without hesitation, launched herself into an elegant dive, piercing the water like a knife.

A few moments later and Quinn emerged from the water, shaking her head in a quick motion to remove the wet hair from her face. She grinned up at Rachel as she treaded water. She was laughing as the blonde let out a small shiver.

"Proud of yourself?" Quinn called, quickly getting used to the chilly water. After spending so much time in the lake as a child, she was bound to have built up some form of tolerance for the cold.

"Actually," Rachel said with a smirk, arms crossed as she rested her weight on her left leg. "I am rather." Quinn smiled, her eyes roaming over the perfect figure of Rachel Berry in that red, white and blue ensemble from Mr Schue's proposal number. It accentuated every perfect aspect of the brunette. Rachel's cheeks blushed as she saw Quinn openly admiring her; she didn't think she would ever get used to the blonde looking at her like she was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. It made her feel special and wanted and so unbelievably loved. It made her stomach tingle with butterflies and her cheeks grow warm.

"Get in here," Quinn suddenly announced, splashing Rachel. The brunette shrieked at the surprise of the chilly water but her shriek quickly turned into laughter. Quinn continued to splash her claiming she "might as well get in, you're already wet". Laughing, Rachel sat on the edge of the jetty and slowly lowered herself into the water. She gasped as the cool water enveloped her, shivering slightly as she swam the short distance to where Quinn looked on.

Not another word was spoken as Quinn's hands took a hold of Rachel's waist, drawing her in and kissing her deeply. It was awkward and their legs kept tangling as they tried to stay afloat, but they didn't care; they just smiled in their kisses when one accidently kicked the other. Rachel wrapped her arms around Quinn's neck and moved their lips together as they so often did; a soft kiss that was full of passion and love for the other.

-X-

Later on that first day at the cabin, Quinn carried two mugs of hot chocolate over to where Rachel was sitting. Sitting beside her, the blonde wrapped a blanket around them both that she'd taken from one of the cupboards. Rachel smiled at her, huddling closer and cradling the steaming mug. Their hair was still damp from their earlier activities and a small shiver shook Rachel's body as she sat in her pyjamas. The blonde moved closer, trying to share as much body heat as she could without spilling her drink.

They sat in the cool evening air, watching the sun set behind the mountains. It cast beautiful rays of reds and oranges, pinks and yellows across the surface of the lake, an orange glow dancing among the trees where the sun's rays still desperately clung.

"Quinn!" Rachel suddenly exclaimed in a hushed shout, her finger pointing to the shoreline opposite them. "Look, is that a deer?"

Quinn followed Rachel's outstretched finger and located the small doe which came slowly out of the trees and cautiously made its way to the water. She recognised it as a white tail deer; she'd seen many of them on her visits here. They were very cautious creatures and extremely timid. The blonde wished she had her camera as the pair watched the young doe drink from the lake.

"It's so beautiful," Rachel said softly as the sky slowly darkened and the orange blaze finally dipped behind the mountains. "Thank you for bringing me here."

-X-

On the third day, Quinn awoke before Rachel. Looking over at the handcrafted clock on the bedside table, she saw it was still early morning. A bluish hue of the early dawn light streamed into the room through the large windows. The thin voile curtains did nothing to stop the light and only served to supply an element of privacy. The blonde stretched and ran a hand through her hair. Turning, she saw that Rachel was still fast asleep. Quinn, on mornings like this, still couldn't believe that Rachel was hers, that she could wake up and see that beautiful face. Sometimes she honestly couldn't believe her luck. Smiling, the Yale undergraduate gently left the bed and went in her bag for her camera. She snapped a few pictures of the angel sleeping in the bed; long dark hair draped over the white pillows, her half-covered body creating a beautiful contrast to the white of the bed linen.

Leaving the brunette to sleep a little while longer, Quinn ran a brush through her hair, pulled on some clothes and headed out into the dawn with her camera in hand. She captured many images of the scenery and some rather poetic shots of the little boat tied to the jetty like a dog on a leash and the willow tree just down the shore, its long hanging tresses billowing in the breeze. Soon she found herself on her stomach in the grass, trying desperately to get the perfect shot of the dragonflies that made their home in the reeds. One of the dragonflies neared her as it circled, drifting through the air effortlessly and eventually landed just in the right spot. Quinn collected her shot, securing an image of the electric blue insect in perfect detail. Then it was gone, heading out toward the lake until it disappeared from view.

She soon lost track of time and as she lay on her back, watching a kestrel circling overhead, blind to everything else until she heard the soft tread of Rachel's feet approaching.

"Were you going to leave me in bed all day?" she asked as she neared, a chuckle in her voice at finding her girlfriend laid upon her back in the long grass, her hair golden in the sun.

Quinn smiled up at the sky. "You looked too beautiful to disturb."

Rachel blushed a little and walked the short distance to enter Quinn's vision as she continued to watch the bird overhead. Rachel poked her foot into Quinn's side. "That's not the point; I don't want to miss this time with you."

"All you missed was me filling up my memory card," she told the brunette who was leaning over her, blocking out the bird. She picked up her camera and quickly took a shot of Rachel and thus received another foot in her side.

"Hey, I wasn't ready for that,"

"That's when you get the best photographs," Quinn said with a smile, pressing the play button and looking at the gorgeous image of her girlfriend on the little screen. The angle gave a wondrous view of Rachel's chest causing a smirk from the blonde. From the small image, she finally noticed that Rachel was wearing her swimsuit again. "Planning a swim?"

"I was thinking about it," Rachel responded and helped Quinn to her feet. "Will you join me if I do?" Quinn tapped her camera, indicating she'd rather take photos. Rachel sighed dramatically as Quinn focused the camera on the brunette. "Surely you have enough photos of me by now, Quinn."

"Never," the taller of the pair told her honestly and snapped away. Her persistence eventually had Rachel running away, laughing as Quinn chased her. "Don't pretend you don't like the attention," she grinned. At this, Rachel decided to throw some poses in Quinn's direction who happily clicked away. The brunette posed in front of the lake, amongst the daisies and even sat in the little wooden boat but Quinn's favourite picture of the day by far was the one with Rachel laughing lightly, the breeze toying with her hair as she sat on the picnic table, one arm held her weight while the other reached up to capture the fugitive lock of hair. The background, however stunning in itself, was blurred as the focus of the image fell on the brunette, making Rachel look all the more breathtaking.

A small bird was disturbed out of the rushes by the shore, breaking Quinn's somewhat trance as she looked through the beautiful photos. She smiled up at Rachel who had been watching her closely. "Now, how about that swim?"

-x-

The sky was a canvas of swirling pinks, blazing oranges and fading blues. The vast expanse of water was calm and serene, the slight breeze causing the occasional ripple which glimmered under the rays of the setting sun. The trees with the sunset behind them cast long dark shadows across the water, stretching like fingers grasping for the shore. The small green rowing boat gently tugged at the rope which tied it down, the bow rhythmically tapping against the wooden post. A blue jay hopped from reed to reed in search of a meal, dragonflies hovered and soared while small gnats began to make themselves known.

It was the second sunset the two had watched together sitting on the jetty with their legs hanging over the edge; the scent of the forest surrounding them. Quinn's feet made small circles in the cool water while Rachel's happily hung several inches above the water's surface. Rachel's head rested on Quinn's shoulder, resting in the safe embrace as she watched the changing colours in the sky.

"Quinn?" came Rachel's soft voice, her eyes still looking out across the lake.

"Yeah, Rach?"

She smiled at the nickname and pulled away from Quinn a little, her eyes watching the blonde closely. She had memorised every part of the blonde's features from that perfect jaw-line to those sculpted lips to the eyebrow which sat slightly above the other. Everything about the slightly older girl beside her seemed to be sculpted by a higher power; Rachel simply couldn't understand how such beauty could be created by mere accident.

She didn't respond verbally, not just yet anyway. Instead she gently drew Quinn to her, kissing her softly. The blonde made a small sound of approval, kissing the brunette back with more passion, pulling her closer. They could never get close enough when they kissed like this; they could have every inch of their flesh pressing together and still not be close enough. It was infuriating, but with Rachel's soft lips, Quinn was more than grateful for everything she got.

"Quinn," came Rachel's voice in between kisses and stolen breaths. "I'm ready."

Quinn was slightly taken aback, the words taking time to process in her hazy post-kissing mind. Hazel eyes curiously watched brown as she stuttered an "A-are you sure?"

Rachel had never been more sure of anything in her life. Both the two girls had experienced sexual relations outside of their current relationship, experiences that weren't particularly special or well-thought out in either case. Together, they decided to wait; to wait for that special momentous occasion to happen spontaneously; no pressure, no pushing, just a mutual love and understanding. And now the moment was upon them and neither of the girls could think of anything more perfect for their first time with one another. Rachel nodded and was greeted with another kiss, more passionate and with deeper feeling than the last, the taste of a smile gracing her lips.

Rachel wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck, locking the taller girl to her in a loving embrace laced with lust and desire. Quinn didn't stop kissing the girl she loved as she enveloped her own strong arms around Rachel's waist, lifting her easily. The brunette's legs moved to encircle her girlfriend's hips, feeling completely safe with Quinn holding her above the ground. The Yale undergraduate carried the young star all the way to the bedroom, their mouths barely parting in the process.

They undressed one another slowly, taking in every inch of exposed skin with dark, adoring eyes until all that separated them was their shallow breathing, hot and heavy against the other's bare torso.

The two moved onto the bed, eyes still roaming the other's body, unashamed of their nakedness. An expression passed over Rachel's face akin to that post-first-kiss look; her soul bare and shimmering in the golden flecks of her brown eyes. Gazing into those soulful eyes, witnessing the desire in them, something inside Quinn snapped and she crashed their lips together once again. They kissed feverishly, hands clawing at each other's skin, fisting in their hair. Soon, the kisses slowed as their anticipation became almost too much to bear. Then Quinn was kissing along Rachel's jaw, moving teasingly slowly toward her neck where she placed lingering kisses down to her collar bone, exploring the flesh with her kisses. She didn't want to miss a single part of Rachel's body; she wanted to memorise each part with her mouth, with her hands. She wanted to love her, completely and utterly.

"You sure?" Quinn asked softly, desire obvious in her voice. Her heated kisses had led her down between Rachel's thighs, her hands gripping at toned, tan flesh with her breath hot against Rachel's burning flesh. While she wanted this more than she could ever have imagined, Quinn had to make sure, she didn't know what she would do if Rachel ever regretted this experience.

Rachel propped herself up slightly, bangs stuck to her face with perspiration, glaring with eyes black as night at the blonde. "Quinn Fabray, if you don't make love to me right now, I'll..." the rest of the sentence was lost, cut short by a sharp intake of breath as Quinn's tongue caused the singer to fist her hands in the sheets. It was an indescribable sensation to the diva; words were lost to her as Quinn continued her ministrations. Rachel's stomach tensed, her hips jolted and small moans escaped her lips. The blonde continued as if she knew what she was doing and it certainly seemed to be working because Rachel was soon panting and coming apart around her.

As Quinn crawled back up the bed to hold a still shivering Rachel, she felt as if she were floating. It was the single most amazing experience she had ever had, seeing Rachel like that, hearing her moans and her name coming breathily out from those swollen lips. The brunette eagerly accepted the blonde's arms, wrapping herself in the warm embrace. Her eyes were still closed, her brow slightly wrinkled in thought as she tried to regulate her breathing. Quinn smiled in the crook of Rachel's neck, a movement not unnoticed by the brunette.

"Proud of yourself, huh?" Rachel chuckled lightly, her hand gently running through Quinn's hair.

"A little," Quinn admitted, pulling back to look into those chocolate orbs once again. She smiled softly, her heart warming at what she saw there. A blind man would have seen the love and adoration painted for all to see on Rachel's beautiful face. The blonde closed the distance between them again, her palm softly holding Rachel's cheek as they exchanged small, sweet kisses. As she pulled back, Quinn blinked back the tears she could feel forming. The sheer magnitude of emotion was almost drowning her; she was so happy and felt so unbelievably lucky. "I love you, Rachel Berry," she breathed, her hazel eyes glistening.

"I love you too," Rachel smiled, reaching up to press another kiss to the blonde's lips. Things progressed slowly as they began kissing once again, eventually leading to more desperate and lustful kisses as Quinn was suddenly beneath the brunette on the bed. Sweat beaded over their skin as Rachel quickly drove the blonde over the edge.

**AN: Review, please?**

**Sorry for the delay and I hope to update soon, no promises as the new semester is just around the corner. Stay tuned for the present day chapter** **Missing.**


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